The e-band frequency allocation consists of the two unchannelized bands of 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz. These frequencies offer a wireless communications solution where a point-to-point, line of sight, wireless high-speed communications link can be established between two transceivers. E-band frequencies are used for high capacity point-to-point wireless, enabling gigabit-speed transmission in the millimeter-wave bands which generally comprise frequencies above 40 GHz. There has been interest in utilizing the e-band portion of the electromagnetic spectrum because of the inherently wide bandwidth available in the e-band frequency range. However, in order to represent a viable option, millimeter-wave e-band applications require a high level of integration without substantially increasing cost over comparable applications at lower frequency bands.
There is an ever-increasing industry need to reduce the size and cost of chipsets, including e-band communication chipsets. This pressure has driven designers to develop e-band transceivers with higher levels of integration, and towards making e-band transceivers smaller, lighter, more power efficient, and less expensive.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a transceiver capable of millimeter-wave e-band wireless communications which is both highly integrated and cost effective to produce.